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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · mine · net · pass · court · prune · current · chair

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chair — a leader
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. net — in sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. net — for catching
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mine — for digging
  14. net — after costs
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. court — of law
  17. current — happening now
  18. court — of a king
  19. current — of water
  20. court — for sport
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. current — electric

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com